Turn Back Time
by Open Casket Ceremony
Summary: A brief five-shot revolving around the brief relationship of Hitsugaya Toshiro and Kusaka Sojiro - How it began, how it ended, and how it revived itself, only to fade again. DiamondDust Rebellion based, obviously KusaHitsu. Implied IchiHitsu.
1. Falling Snow

Author's Note: Whoo, another KusaHitsu fic-thingie. This is going to be a five-shot. No, these events did not actually happen. They are based on actual events though. I don't want to give spoilers for the DiamondDust Rebellion anyway.

* * *

As Kusaka Sojiro had put it, class at the moment was…well, boring.

Tall, thin, pale-skinned and dark-haired, the teenager was considered by his classmates and instructors to be what one would call "gifted." He had a natural talent for the stuff that the academy taught, be it kido or swordsmanship.

He'd rather be practicing either of those two.

Instead, along with the rest of his classmates in the advanced class 1-A, Kusaka was grudgingly flipping through a dull textbook on the laws of Soul Society, filling out the worksheet that accompanied the reading assignment. It was tedious, seemingly pointless, and despite the fact that he was already done, he had found himself becoming extremely bored.

He let out a long and tired sigh, absently twirling his pen with his fingers and gazing out the window.

This had become a usual routine. Everything in the academy, for Kusaka, was either too easy, or just plain boring. Being at the top of the class, ranked number one, he was never faced with an interesting challenge, and as a consequence, he'd usually be seen yawning, daydreaming, or struggling to stay awake.

"Psst! Sojiro! What did you write down for question twelve?"

With an exasperated roll of his eyes, the raven-haired youth turned in his seat to give the student behind him a reproachful glare. It figured. Naturally, other students of the academy would often ask him for help, offering money bribes even at times. But he never ended up assisting them like they hoped. The work was unbearably easy, in his opinion anyway, so he saw no reason why he needed to help them at all.

"Come on, Sojiro! You're a good guy, right?"

"Maybe I'm not," he responded evenly, turning back around. It was a waste of time to deal with those lazy bums who couldn't figure things out on their own.

"Time!"

The instructor held up his hands, signaling for the class to stop writing. "Put down your pens and pass your papers up, I don't care if you're done or not!"

The classroom was instantly filled with the sound of shuffling papers, frantic last-minute scribbling, and groans of protest.

Amidst the chaos, no one noticed when the classroom door opened. A young boy with startling aquamarine eyes and snowy white hair stepped into the classroom, clutching an armful of textbooks to his chest. He couldn't have been very old at all; he was wearing the smallest uniform size offered, and yet, it still hung loosely on his thin frame. Eyes wide and unblinking, the boy hesitantly took a step towards the instructor.

The instructor looked up at him, an expression of doubt on his face. "Are you lost, young man?"

"I don't reckon I am…This _is_ Advanced Class 1-A…right?"

"Yes, and you are…?"

"Hitsugaya Toshiro, sir."

The instructor's expression lit up. "Ah, I remember now," he answered, "I received notice that you would be joining our class today."

"I suppose so."

There was a brief pause before the instructor cleared his throat, clapping his hands loudly to get the attention of the chattering class.

"Everyone, we have a new student today. This is Hitsugaya Toshiro. Please treat him with respect."

The volume in the classroom once again began to swell as a chorus of low murmurs filled the air. Was this some kind of joke? Who the heck did that little squirt think he was, traipsing into the room, expecting everyone to believe that a kid like him had been placed in the advanced class?

"Sensei!" one student spoke up, a scornful smirk plastered on his smug face. "Are you sure there isn't a mistake with that kid's registration? There's no way that little punk could have gotten into the academy, period, let alone in our class."

The instructor coughed, facing the student who had spoken. "I don't see why you should be complaining, considering the fact that Hitsugaya-san here scored over ten times higher than you did on the entrance exam."

A hush of disbelief fell over the classroom, the student who had spoken scowling, rather humiliated.

Kusaka raised an eyebrow.

Hitsugaya Toshiro, eh? Well, he was certainly going to prove to be an interesting person…

"You may choose any of the empty seats in the classroom's rear."

With a brief nod, Hitsugaya slowly made his way down the aisles of desks, his eyes downcast, seeming a little abashed at the whispers that arose as he moved through the groups of students.

"Hey, brat," the student who had spoken earlier hissed as he walked by, "I wonder how a midget like you is going to be able to see the board from all the way back there."

"I'm a little concerned about that myself," Hitsugaya retorted coolly, continuing to make his way calmly past. "It appears that your fat head will be blocking my view."

There was another stunned silence.

The student opened and closed his mouth like a mentally retarded goldfish, unable to think of anything to say back until he finally spluttered, "Well, maybe you're just too short!"

"Perhaps. And maybe you need to cut down your calorie intake."

Laughter erupted through the room. Muttering to himself angrily about getting back at him later, rather red in the face, the student turned back around in a huff. Hitsugaya, on the other hand, simply found and empty seat and sat down as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

Kusaka had to admit he was a little surprised at this. That particular student was known for being a troublemaker who enjoyed mercilessly taunting students that he found did not suit his tastes. He even looked intimidating, and this Hitsugaya kid had guts to speak to him like he had. At any rate, he could tell that the belligerent fool probably had already taken a strong disliking towards the new student, and this couldn't end very well for either of them.

Shortly afterwards, the bell rang, signaling it was time for the students to take a brief break before the next class would begin. With a sigh of relief, Kusaka scooped up his papers, cleaning up his things and readying himself to leave.

As he started out the door, he suddenly heard the instructor speaking to him.

"If you want to stay number one in the class, Kusaka, you'd better step up your game. That new kid's something special. He'll surpass you in a matter of days if you aren't careful."

"Got it, sensei," the raven-haired teen muttered as he exited the room. So, the instructor obviously thought that this new kid was going to be quite a challenge, huh? Well, they'd have to see about that.

* * *

Clutching his books to his chest in fear of dropping them and losing them, Hitsugaya slowly made his way across the campus, surrounded by groups of students chattering away. They had someone to talk to and relate to, he realized with a small ache in his heart, whereas he was quite alone in the vast sea of friends talking happily with each other.

He promptly tried to shake the thoughts out of his head. Who needed friends, anyway? He needed to concentrate on his studies if he wanted to become a shinigami and do well as one.

As he continued to weave through the crowds, slipping easily past people because of his small size, his personal contemplations on his social life (or lack thereof) were suddenly and quite rudely interrupted by the obnoxiously irritating sound of someone whistling at him, the source of the annoying gesture coming from the general direction of a group of unsavory-looking students skulking around by a building, leaning against the wall with scowls plastered on their faces in a sad attempt to look cool.

"Lookin' _good_ there, newbie!"

Disliking being addressed by the term "newbie," Hitsugaya turned to face the person who had decided to speak to him, recognizing him as the student who had tried to insult him earlier in the day.

"And you're _not_ looking so good yourself," he snapped, not wanting to bother dealing with him or his grubby-looking cronies. After all, he wasn't very fond of any of them at all.

"That wasn't very nice of you, was it?" the student frowned, moving away from the wall and towards the severely annoyed Hitsugaya. "Look, newbie, we got off to a bad start earlier today, didn't we? Want me to make it up to you?"

"No," Hitsugaya answered plainly. "What I _would_ want you to do is to stop bothering me."

"Aw, don't be like that!" he protested, "It's really a pity that your words aren't quite as pretty as your face, huh? Maybe you should consider being nicer?"

"I will when you consider not being such an ass," Hitsugaya huffed, turning away and starting off. He was _so_ not in the mood for this right now.

That seemed to be just the thing to do to tick the student off.

"Hey, brat, just who d'ya think you are, trying to ignore me!?" He reached out and roughly grabbed the white-haired boy by the shoulder, trying to redirect his attention.

"Don't _touch_ me!" Hitsugaya hissed, wrenching away from him angrily.

The time bomb was ticking.

"And why shouldn't I?"

"Because there's a possibility that your idiocy might rub off on me. If you don't mind, I'd like to go spend my time elsewhere where there will actually be a _point_."

This seemed to be the last straw for the student.

"Why, you…You little bitch!"

Without warning, he struck Hitsugaya viciously across the face with all his strength, sending the smaller boy sprawling to the floor, his textbooks scattering every which way.

"You like that? D'ya want some more, huh, little bookworm!?"

Silence.

"I asked you a question, brat!" the infuriated student yelled, grabbing Hitsugaya by the front of his kimono and jerking him into an upright position. "Are you stupid or something!?" He pulled his hand back, ready to slap him again when he felt someone's hand resting on his shoulder.

"Leave him _alone_."

The student turned around, nearly jumping out of his skin when he found himself facing none other than Kusaka Sojiro, who did not look like the happiest camper out there.

"Cheh! What're you gonna do about it, Sojiro?"

"If I were you, it'd be in my best interests not to find out," Kusaka answered coldly. "Now let go of him."

Muttering, he released Hitsugaya, turning to his group of cronies. "C'mon guys, let's get out of here," he grumbled, and they all shuffled off like beaten dogs with their tails between their legs. Though none of them admitted it, it was actually quite obvious that all of them were actually quite frightened of Kusaka.

As soon as they were out of sight, Kusaka turned to Hitsugaya, who was staring up at him with wide eyes.

"You alright?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," he murmured, quickly looking away, his cheeks tinged slightly with a rosy shade of pink. He knelt down onto the ground, collecting his scattered textbooks.

"Here, let me help you," Kusaka spoke quickly, kneeling down next to him and helping him pick up the displaced books until a neat stack had been reformed.

"Thank you," the somewhat flustered boy managed to whisper out shyly.

"No problem," Kusaka replied. Despite himself, he couldn't help but smile at him. The student he had scared off a couple of seconds was at least right about one thing: the young boy _was_ extremely pretty. "Hitsugaya Toshiro, right?" he inquired as both of them stood.

"Yeah."

"Winter, huh? That's a nice name."

"Thank you. And…um, might I have _your_ name?"

"Ah. Well, I suppose there'd be no harm in that." The dark-haired teen stuck out his hand for a shake with an amiable smile. "Kusaka Sojiro. It's nice meeting you, Toshiro."

"It's nice meeting you too, Kusaka…And, erm…I'd prefer it if you'd call me by my family name…"

"Oh? Well, I'm not that kind of person who bothers with honorifics and all that. I hope you don't mind. I'd actually like it if you'd address me by my given name."

"Oh…but you see, 'I'm not that kind of person.' I don't like to speak so informally."

"You got me there," Kusaka chuckled. "Fine, I'll make you a deal, okay? You can call me by my family name if you insist on it, but in exchange, I get to call you by your given name. Is that alright with you?"

"I suppose that'll work," Hitsugaya answered.

"Great," Kusaka smiled. "Well, both of us had better be going to class now…You know, it would be really nice if I could…Well, if I could see you around some other time, alright?"

"Y-Yeah," the white-haired boy stammered. "You too."

"Alright, talk you later then!"

"I…I suppose." With that, Hitsugaya hurried off, not wanting to be late to his next class.

Kusaka, on the other hand, had already decided that he had taken quite a liking to the strange new student.


	2. Cherry Tree

Author's Note: Here's Part 2. In case you noticed, these chapters are longer than my standard story chapters since this is only going to be a five-shot and I need to be able to fit everything in. Also, I will be updating my other fics very soon, so don't worry.

* * *

The classroom was once again in turmoil as students crowded near the room's front, all pushing and shoving in an attempt to see the exam scores posted on the board.

Recently, they had taken a fairly important kido exam. It hadn't been very difficult at all, Kusaka had thought. All they had to do was take a written test, writing down the indicated spells, and then they had been asked to perform the kido spells in front of a panel of instructors for scoring, the full score being 500.

Kusaka scanned the list of names and scores, his eyes finally catching sight of the score that his exam had merited. "_Only_ 500?" he muttered to himself. He had been hoping that he would receive an extra credit point or two, but, oh well. He'd have to settle for that.

"You got a 500? That's great, Sojiro-kun!" a nearby student commented. "I only got a 350…"

"He got a 500!? How!? That test was so hard!"

"Yeah, Sojiro-kun's really amazing, isn't he?"

"Not really," Kusaka laughed. "It was just luck, that's all." His eyes continued to wander down the list of names and scores. He was actually quite curious to see what a certain someone else had managed to score.

His gaze finally hit the name "Hitsugaya Toshiro." As he glanced to the left to see his score, his eyes widened in the slightest.

"No way…" he murmured to himself under his breath. "525? That's….That's incredible." He snuck a quick glance at the white-haired boy, who was standing on his tip-toes and craning his neck, trying to see past the other taller students.

"Hey, Toshiro," Kusaka whispered, gently touching his elbow. "You scored a 525. Congratulations."

"Really?" Hitsugaya inquired, turning to face Kusaka. "Is that a good thing?"

"Definitely. The maximum score was 500…So you must have impressed the panel to have gotten so many extra credit points."

"I see. How did _you_ do, Kusaka?"

Kusaka hesitated, pursing his lips. "I don't know," he lied. "I haven't looked at mine yet." The truth was, he was actually feeling a little embarrassed. He wasn't exactly used to not having the top test score in the class, and the fact that he had suddenly been bumped down a rank by the new student made him feel slightly uneasy.

But yet, there was something else to it too. It felt…Well, it felt _thrilling_. From the very beginning, he had suspected that Hitsugaya would score high. After all, it was extremely rare to see someone at his age making it into the 1-A class, let alone the shinigami academy, period.

He had a good feeling about this kid. He really did.

Looks like he wasn't normal – And that was good. Kusaka had never been one to appreciate normality anyways.

After class had let out, Hitsugaya scooped his textbooks up off the desktop into a neat and organized pile, standing up from his seat. As he exited the classroom, he became increasingly aware of the fact that people were talking. About _him_.

"You know that Hitsugaya kid? The one who transferred in last week?"

"Did you _see_ his test score?"

"He can't be normal. I mean, look at his eyes and his hair. It's so creepy."

"You don't suppose he's an incarnation of a…"

"No way! Not a kid like him, anyway. I bet he's just a cheater."

"I can't believe he did better than Sojiro-kun…That's practically impossible!"

"That kid's a monster, I tell you guys. He's not like us."

"Yeah, don't get too near him. Who knows what'll happen."

Somewhat hurt, Hitsugaya blinked, his hold on his textbooks tightening as he faltered in his steps, before hurriedly moving past the group of students that had been talking about him. He simply couldn't understand why everyone had to act like he was a _mutant_ or some kind of alien from a foreign planet, just because he had received and exceptionally high score on the test. It wasn't like he was a different species from them. He was a person, too, wasn't he?

"Shit, I think he heard us…"

"Good job, you idiots. You all talk too loud. It's your entire fault if he does something weird to us."

Hitsugaya was too busy trying to get as far away from them as possible to listen to what else they had to say about him. He didn't stop, his brisk walk nearly breaking into a run. He was desperate to get away, anywhere, just as long as it was where no one would see him. Where no one would see his white hair or his teal eyes, and where no one would talk about him behind his back as if he couldn't hear them.

The refuge he had been looking for came in the form of a large cherry tree.

Sitting down on the grassy knoll and pressing his back against the rough bark of the tree's trunk, he wondered if he would be noticed from there. Spring was in full swing at this point, so the branches were dripping with fresh, bursting pink blossoms, their smooth, soothing scent lingering lightly in the still air.

He looked up into them, watching as a spring breeze carried a blossom down from the branches. It drifted downwards, floating down to earth like a butterfly, before it finally landed daintily at his feet.

Hitsugaya let out a long sigh, placing his textbooks to the side and drawing his knees up to his chest. How tacky. He was never too fond of cherry trees with all their ostentatious pink blooms looking like haughty schoolgirls demanding attention, but there was something oddly comforting about this particular tree, so he chose to stay where he was.

"Well, well. What're you doing here all alone, Toshiro?"

Hitsugaya looked up, startled by the sudden sound of someone addressing him. "Oh! Kusaka…"

The raven-haired teen smiled at him, somewhat amused by his surprised reaction. "Mind if I join you?"

"Oh, not at all," Hitsugaya answered quickly, promptly scooting over to make room for the other student, and shortly afterwards, Kusaka took a seat, making himself comfortable under the tree's branches.

"So, I take it you like cherry trees?" Kusaka inquired curiously.

"Not really, actually," Hitsugaya answered plainly.

"It's supposed to be romantic, you know," the older teen laughed. "That's what everyone dreams of. Young love, blossoming under the cherry trees along with those tacky pink flowers up there…But I find that the cherry tree is much more beautiful in the winter. Just the bare branches and the ice, huh?"

"I know what you mean."

"Really? You're the first person who's ever agreed with me on that!"

"Is that so?"

"Yep."

There was a pause before Hitsugaya spoke again. "I've always been fond of ice," he murmured. "I don't know why. I guess it's just a part of me…I mean, I'm always having this one dream, Kusaka, over and over and over again. In my dream, I'm always standing in a big, wide plain of ice. A few skimpy shrubs here and there, but for the most part, it's completely frozen over…And whenever I'm in that plain of ice, there's always someone waiting for me. Well, I guess it's not really a 'someone,' to be precise…I suppose it's a dragon. A really big dragon. Made out of ice, always calling my name…But I don't know how to answer to it."

Kusaka's eyes widened in sudden interest. He gave Hitsugaya a funny look, tilting his head to check for signs of him making up some random story. No, he didn't see deception in his eyes, just sincerity and seriousness. Could he be…?

"D-Did I say something wrong?" Hitsugaya asked, startled by the way Kusaka was staring at him in the most peculiar fashion.

"Oh, no! No, not at all," Kusaka laughed. "I was just wondering, did this so-called dragon made out of ice ever tell you its name?"

"No…I always wake up right before it's about to tell me. Why do you ask?"

"Well, to be honest, Toshiro…I actually do think I know this dragon's name."

"Huh!?" the fair-haired boy spluttered, surprised by these words. "Kusaka, what are you saying?"

"What? Do you think I'm lying?"

"No, it's just that…That…"

"That…?"

"Never mind. You probably don't care anyway."

"Go ahead and spill, Toshiro," Kusaka smiled. "I can relate to you more than you think."

"Well, if you insist…I'm just a little doubtful. I'm not sure if I can believe you entirely when you say you know this dragon's name, and that you can 'relate' to me. I don't know why you'd even _want_ to relate to me. I mean, I'm not blaming the dragon for it…But everyone treats me like I'm a…a _monster_ or something. Everyone who lived near me in the Rukongai is afraid of me because of the way I look, and my reiatsu, and I can tell that a lot of the other students feel that way about me, too."

"Look, Toshiro," Kusaka answered, the tone of his voice becoming firm and serious as he placed his hands on Hitsugaya's shoulders, looking straight into his wide, aquamarine eyes. "You want to know why I know these things? I'll tell you why. I'm just like you. People were scared of me, too, because of my reiatsu. The ice probably has a bigger role in your soul, which is why you've got that white hair of yours, and…and your beautiful eyes. Everything, down to the last detail about your 'plain of ice'…I see the exact same things. I've met the exact same dragon. And that has to mean only one thing: We've got the same soul, the same zanpaku-to. And its name is Hyorinmaru."

"Hyorinmaru…?"

"Yeah."

"You swear this is the truth?"

"Why would I ever lie to you, Toshiro? But it's really up to you whether you want to believe me or not…So, do you?"

"I…I guess I do."

"Hey," Kusaka added, the smile returning to his features. "I think this means something! Maybe we're…Well, maybe we're connected or something."

"Spiritually, you mean?"

"Yeah. A spiritual bond."

There was a long and somewhat awkward silence.

Kusaka inhaled deeply, glancing up into the blossom-loaded branches. _So, they're supposed to be a symbol of new love and romance, huh? That's actually pretty cheesy, but…_

"You know, Toshiro," he started, "You probably get this a lot, but…You're very pretty, you know that? I've never seen anyone like you."

"Oh…No, I'm not…Not really," Hitsugaya murmured, his pale cheeks flushed in a shade similar to the cherry blossoms with a steady blush.

"You are. Honestly."

"Oh, shut up!"

"I swear! Honestly, I really do think you're pretty. And it's not just me – I mean, haven't you noticed that practically every guy in the whole academy can't keep their eyes off of you?"

"They're not staring at me because of that," Hitsugaya insisted, "They're just staring because I have weird hair and…and repulsive eyes that are colored like radioactive duck shit, that's all."

"Hey!" Kusaka scolded sternly. "Don't say those kinds of things about yourself. Listen to me, Toshiro. Just because you look different from everyone else, doesn't mean you're a freak or something. That makes you special, do you know what I'm saying? Forgive me if I'm sounding kind of weird to you right now, but you know what? That's exactly why you're so pretty. Because of your hair, because of your eyes – which, by the way do not look like 'radioactive duck shit.' You're just like a metaphor for winter. And frankly, Toshiro, winter is the most beautiful season of them all."

"Kusaka…"

There was another long pause, which actually left Kusaka feeling a little embarrassed and very awkward indeed. He wondered if his whole speech he had just recited had creeped the younger student out and if he just sounded like some random philosopher who was actually a closet pervert in disguise.

"S-Sorry," he muttered quickly. "You're probably really freaked out by now, huh?"

"No, no, not at all," Hitsugaya answered quietly. "You just…well, you kind of surprised me. No one has ever said anything like that about me before…And, well…I appreciate it, Kusaka."

There was another silence.

Kusaka was contemplating something. Whether or not he should do…well, you know. If he should do it.

His eyes wandered around for a moment before the raven-haired teen caught sight of a fallen cherry blossom by Hitsugaya's feet. Mentally, he began to count off the petals.

Do it. Don't do it. Do it. Don't do it. Do it. Don't do it…

…Do it.

It was decided. He would do it.

Quickly, he leaned towards Hitsugaya and placed a brief kiss on his cheek.

There was another silence.

Mortified, Kusaka could feel his face heating up. What the hell had he just done!? He barely even knew the boy and he was already suddenly infatuated with him – And to top off his idiocy, he had just gone ahead and kissed him!?

Hitsugaya was blushing furiously as well, looking sheepishly up at Kusaka with his wide, childlike eyes. Then, he also made a very bold gesture – Hesitantly, he leaned towards Kusaka and gently placed his lips against his.

Kusaka's eyes widened. He hadn't been expecting this at all. The kiss was extremely soft, in fact, it barely even seemed to be there – But yet, it was extremely sweet and innocent.

People passing by stopped to stare, whispering and pointing, but by this point, neither Hitsugaya, nor Kusaka, cared about them in the slightest. They could think whatever they wanted, but the two of them were already lost in their own private plain of ice that no one else could enter.


	3. Fifty Years

Author's Note: Sorry I haven't updated this one in such a long time! I let it slip my mind...oops. By the way, for those of you who've already seen the movie, I'm aware that my fic doesn't really go with the actual chain of events, though it sticks with it in close approximation. I don't want to toss out spoilers to the people who haven't seen the film yet, so, yeah. I repeat, the actual events in _DiamondDust Rebellion_ are only a guidline.

* * *

_Approximately Fifty Years Later._

"Kusaka," Hitsugaya spoke, facing a plain, unadorned grave stone located atop a grassy knoll somewhere in the Seireitei. "I've been assigned to guard the Ouin, the seal of the King. I know you always told me what an honor this duty was…So I'll do my best for you."

There was a silence other than a cold breeze ruffling his white tenth-division haori.

"I miss you, Kusaka," Hitsugaya murmured, kneeling down to run his fingers along the characters inscribed into the bleak stone that spelled out the name of a lover that had died many years ago. "I wish you could be here with me so we could share this duty…"

He paused again before standing up, adjusting the sash that held Hyorinmaru over his shoulder. "I'll come back later," he said, as if Kusaka was actually there to listen to him, "And I'll tell you all about the mission after I'm done."

And with that, he was off, using shunpo to get back to his office as quickly as possible to fetch Matsumoto and the rest of his subordinates that would be accompanying him on the transport of the Ouin.

* * *

"…This is absurd," Hitsugaya muttered, arms folded over his chest as he looked up at the irregularly shaped cloud that hosted a variety of priests conducting some sort of ceremony for the change of the Ouin's hold location. "I don't understand why they need such a showy and obnoxious ceremony just for transporting some artifact."

"Taichou!" Matsumoto giggled, "That was a little too bold of you to say! I don't think the King would be very happy if he heard that. You could be punished, you know!"

"Is that so?" Hitsugaya answered absently, still staring in an annoyed fashion at the activity taking place on that stupid sausage-shaped cloud. It stuck out like a sore thumb. The King was an idiot if he thought it was going to be inconspicuous to people aspiring to steal the Ouin, and besides, they were making a racket with all their dumb instruments, playing their silly ceremonial songs and chanting. "In that case, what about…"

The juuban tai taichou's words trailed off. He blinked, realizing that something wasn't right. He wasn't quite sure what it was, but something wasn't right – He could almost feel an ominous aura, hanging heavy in the air.

His intuition was right on target.

"What the…?"

Seconds after the thought had crossed his mind, there was a loud sound of splintering wood, a structure situated on the demented cloud almost instantly bursting into flames.

"Matsumoto!" The young captain's hand flew to the hilt of Hyorinmaru. "Let's go!"

Without waiting for his fukutaichou to respond, Hitsugaya already was on his way, moving as quickly as he could. If damage was to come to the Ouin, things would not be pretty…

Upon the cloud, everything was chaos.

A large orb of electric energy was darting amongst the crowd of fleeing people, turning all those who could not get away fast enough into ash. The sphere split into two, heading straight for a group of Hitsugaya's subordinates that were readying themselves to attempt a counter-attack.

Hitsugaya's eyes widened. Something here wasn't right.

"Wait!" he shouted, spinning around to face his subordinates. "Pull back for now-"

It was too late.

There was a burst of energy, a flash of light, and that group of subordinates was reduced to clouds of ashes before his very eyes.

"Shit…" He turned, frantically looking for Matsumoto. He spotted her in an instant. Thankfully, she was unhurt for the time being, but he could not worry about her for much longer.

Another sphere of energy was circling around, this time composed of fire, engulfing and incinerating everyone in its path, and it was heading straight for him. His hand jumped to Hyorinmaru, and he unsheathed the sword, bringing it forward and slamming it directly into the flaming orb.

He wasn't too surprised to find his katana meeting another, which was held by a red-haired girl who couldn't have been much older than himself.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

The girl did not reply, merely bounding away towards a fallen, burning building, shrieking in mocking laughter.

"Freeze!" Hitsugaya shouted. As he expected, she did not listen to him, and so he followed her, leaping onto the burning building and landing smartly on the creaking wood.

He stepped forward, stopping abruptly. He could feel a strong reiatsu, crushing him in such a way that it was difficult to breathe. This reiatsu, however, was strangely familiar…

The wood underneath his feet lurched dangerously, and he was about to jump away, but something stopped him.

Hitsugaya's eyes widened, a small gasp escaping his lips as a sudden, sharp pain shot through his lower body. Slowly, his eyes traveled downwards, dreading what he was about to see.

A katana blade was lodged in his stomach.

He jumped away, wincing in pain as the blade slid out of his midsection. From the flames, he could make out the silhouette of a rising figure, and although this figure appeared to be a young man wearing a mask, he knew that he was staring directly at him.

"What is…he?"

Before he could even think, with alarming speed, the man unsheathed his katana, lunging at him. Hitsugaya reacted just in time, blocking the blow with his own katana, only to find himself being forced to parry a series of equally vicious attacks.

The man slammed his blade into his again, pushing hard. Hitsugaya was struggling to keep his balance; his knees were threatening to buckle and give way.

And suddenly, the man spoke.

"_Brings back the memories…doesn't it, Toshiro?"_

Hitsugaya's eyes widened, his knees getting weaker by the second as he continued to struggle for breath despite the crushing reiatsu.

With a cold, scornful laugh, the man suddenly stepped back before disappearing.

"Wait…!"

But he was already gone.

This left Hitsugaya staring into the empty space where his attacker had been only moments before. He didn't even bother thinking about the wound he had just received. The only pain he could feel was deep inside his chest. Some terrible sort of heartache, but he wasn't sure why he felt like that.

Whatever the case was, he had made up his mind. He was leaving.

"Taichou!"

Looking down from the building he was still perched precariously on, Hitsugaya noticed Matsumoto standing below, looking expectantly up at him.

He knew what he was about to do would hurt not only her, but the rest of the tenth division. It would mean letting down his subordinates, leaving Matsumoto, and if you were to _really_ analyze it…It meant betraying Soul Society as a whole. But he knew what he had to do. He was going to get to the bottom of this, and he didn't care what happened to himself, and anyone in his way would be his enemy.

He gave a final glance towards his fukutaichou before turning away and disappearing, having no solution and no plans. But he knew he _had_ to find his masked attacker, even if it cost himself his life.

* * *

"_Don't worry, Toshiro. Everything will be alright. Just close your eyes and pretend it's a bad dream. When you wake up, I'll be gone, and you'll be okay."_

"_Kusaka, no! You can't do this! You promised me you'd protect me…"_

"_I know I did. And this is why I'm willing to die for you, right here and right now."_

"_But…"_

"_I love you, Toshiro. I always have. You know I'd do anything for you." _

"_If you would 'do anything' for me, then you would stop this nonsense!"_

"_It's the only way. Please don't make me suffer knowing that everything is my fault."_

"_It's not your fault! There has to be something we can do…"_

"_I'm afraid not, Toshiro. This is the last thing I can do for you to show my thanks to you for all these years. Really, I…I wish it wouldn't end like this. I want to be with you, always. But I'd rather be dead than see you hurt."_

"_Kusaka…"_

_You lied to me._

_You said we'd always be together. You made me promise to work hard so I could become a taichou, and you'd be my fukutaichou. Then we would never be separated. _

_Why is this happening?_

_I don't want to say goodbye. Not now, and not ever. _

_Please don't leave me, Kusaka. Please. You have no idea how much this hurts…_

_I'm begging you. Don't make me do this._

_I can't. I just can't. Stop looking at me like that. I can't bear to lift my katana; it weighs a million pounds as I point its blade towards your heart. _

_Why? Why am I so selfish? Why are you doing this to me? I don't want to. I really don't. Is this just so I can save myself? _

_Please._

_Please, stop asking me to kill you. _

When Hitsugaya opened his eyes, he found himself being wrenched back into the present, the pain in his stomach registering itself again. He hissed in pain, blinking groggily. Naturally, he was actually quite surprised to find that he was lying in a bed of sorts. This was most definitely not _his_ bed. In fact, he could feel a very distinct reiatsu on it; the reiatsu of none other than Kurosaki Ichigo.

And sure enough, the strawberry himself was sitting by the bedside, peering anxiously at the young prodigy.

"Kurosaki…?"

"Are you alright, Toshiro? You started screaming in your sleep, so I tried to wake you up 'cause I thought maybe something was wrong…"

"N-No…It's nothing…And it's _Hitsugaya-taichou!_"

He had been dreaming again. Dreaming the usual dream of the day he would never forget, the day that had been cruelly branded into his memory.

The day he had killed Kusaka Sojiro.

"Toshiro, don't try change the subject," Ichigo spoke, his voice edged with worry that sent a guilty pang through the white-haired boy's heart. "I know something's wrong. I mean, I found you in the middle of the woods, _unconscious_. I brought you to my place to treat that nasty wound of yours, but I don't think you were there on accident or something. I'm here for you, okay? Is there anything you want to talk about at all?"

"No."

"Toshiro…"

"I said, _no_."

Hitsugaya had to admit he was actually rather surprised with himself. He had spoken so coldly to Ichigo, and the hurt expression he received in return was enough to make him instantly regret it. But he had no intentions on telling the substitute shinigami about what he had been planning to do. He couldn't afford to get anyone involved. There was a chance that anyone who did would be injured, or even killed. This was a personal matter.

With that in mind, he abruptly stood, making his way off of Ichigo's bed and heading for the door.

"Toshiro, wait! Where do you think you're going!?"

"I have business to attend to."

"Not in this condition, you're not! You need to rest, and your wounds haven't healed yet…"

"I can't waste my time here. Thank you for your good intentions, but there is _really_ something I have to do right now. It's extremely important."

Before the strawberry could utter another protest, Hitsugaya shoved his way past him, exiting the Kurosaki residence and setting off down the street at a brisk pace.

As he expected, Ichigo followed him.

"Toshiro, please. Why are you in such a hurry?"

"It's none of your business," he answered icily.

"Where are you trying to go!?"

"_It's none of your business, Kurosaki._"

Ichigo reached out and grabbed Hitsugaya's shoulder, trying to stop him. "Toshiro. Earlier, when you were screaming in your sleep, you kept saying someone's name…Tell me. Who is Kusaka Sojiro?"

Hitsugaya's eyes widened, startled that Ichigo had asked him such a question.

Being the stubborn boy he was, he instantly responded in the usual manner.

"Like I said," he growled, "It's none of your business!" With that, he unsheathed Hyorinmaru, swinging viciously at Ichigo, who leapt back just in the nick of time.

"What are you doing!?"

"Leave. Me. Alone."

"Not until you tell me what's wrong!"

"This is a personal matter. It does not concern you, Kurosaki…And if you continue to get in my way…I'll kill you."

"Toshiro, stop it!" Ichigo yelled. "Look, I know you're hurting inside. Is it because of this Kusaka person? You've got to talk to me! I can't let you run off alone, you're going to get hurt again, and I don't want that to happen to you!"

"I told you to get out of my way!"

Hitsugaya lunged at Ichigo, Hyorinmaru clasped in his hands. The substitute shinigami reacted quickly, grabbing Zangetsu and thrusting it forward to shield himself.

"You're crazy, Toshiro! Calm down!"

"I already warned you. If you got in my way, I'd kill you myself!"

The boy slammed Hyorinmaru hard into Zangetsu again, nearly knocking Ichigo off balance. The impact did send the strawberry skidding a good distance away, though.

"What's going on, Toshiro!? Why are you doing this!? What's happened to you!?"

Hitsugaya made no effort to reply, instead, attacking the strawberry again. Metal met metal with a loud clang, sparks, shooting from the blades as they scraped against each other.

"_Answer me!"_

"It's _my_ fight and _my_ fate, Kurosaki. Don't try to stop me."

"Why can't you trust your friends!?"

"Because none of you would _ever_ understand!"

Ice began to crackle on Hyorinmaru's blade, encroaching onto Zangetsu. This was how Ichigo knew that Hitsugaya was most definitely not fooling around. He was serious.

But the strawberry couldn't help but notice the pain and guilt in Hitsugaya's eyes, even as he continued to viciously attack him.

The white-haired boy slammed his katana downwards, hard, and coughing, Ichigo stumbled backwards to steer clear of the explosion of reiatsu, dust, and ice.

When the debris had cleared from the air, the chill of Hyorinmaru was still painfully present in the night air, but by the time Ichigo could see properly again through the thick clouds of disrupted dust, Hitsugaya was long gone.


End file.
